• 17 Dec 2021

Country's Largest Heliport in Noida

Why in news

Recently, Noida Chief Executive Officer Ritu Maheshwari said that the Uttar Pradesh government has approved the proposal to build the country's largest heliport in Noida.

Key Points

• It is worth mentioning that the DPR, design and many other formalities of the heliport project have already been approved by the state government. The Noida Development Administration has been working on this project for the last 5 years.
• This heliport will be built on 9.35 acres in Sector-151A of Noida on Public Private Partnership (PPP model) and will cost Rs 43.13 crore.
• For the construction of the heliport company will be searched through a global tender. The company that built it will be entrusted with the responsibility of operating this heliport for the next 30 years.
• Noida Heliport will be constructed on the lines of Jewar International Airport. For this, the Noida Development Authority will provide the land only.
• The use of this heliport in Noida will be multi-purpose. Commercial flights (for which Bell-412 helicopters are used) will also be carried out from here. These helicopters can carry 12 passengers.
• The world's largest helicopter Mi-172 used for the movements of VVIPs will also be able to land-takeoff here. The capacity of these helicopters is to bring or carry 26 passengers. Noida Heliport has been designed keeping in mind the requirements of these large helicopters.
• It is noteworthy that the place where the helicopter is parked is called a helipad and where there are one or more helipads, that area is called a heliport.

Inauguration of Various Schemes of Energy Sector

Why in news

On December 15, 2021, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar inaugurated various schemes of the energy sector worth Rs 3452.11 crore at the Energy Auditorium located in BSPHCL Colony. Simultaneously, the Chief Minister started the statewide implementation of smart pre-paid meter scheme costing Rs.12,657 crore.

Key Points

• Schemes worth Rs 725.26 crore were inaugurated by the Chief Minister, while foundation stones of various schemes worth Rs 2726.85 crore were laid.
  
  • Under the distribution companies, 48 Vidyut Shakti sub-stations costing a total cost of Rs 325 crore have been inaugurated and laid.
  • The foundation stone for the construction of transmission line from 7 grid sub-station to distribution system at a cost of Rs 874 crore and transmission line for power evacuation from Buxar Thermal Power Establishment at a cost of Rs 817.35 crore was laid.
• The Chief Minister said that a 200 MW solar power plant is going to be set up in Bihar. Work on 100 MW solar power plants will be started at Jamui and Banka. These plants will be set up by Sutlej Jal Vidyut Nigam Limited. An amount of Rs 1000 crore will be spent on this.
• Bihar is the first state in the country where smart prepaid meters are being installed. Smart prepaid meters are being installed in Bihar from 2019. The Electricity Department has set a target to install smart prepaid meters in every household by March 2025 in five phases.
• The Chief Minister said that the electricity bill has been included in the Right to Redressal of Public Grievances Act so that the grievances of the people can be resolved.
• There will be no misuse of electricity with smart prepaid meters. Electricity consumers will also benefit from this. The more electricity people consume, the more they will have to pay the electricity bill.

'Lokrang-2021'

Why in news

On 16 December 2021, Rajasthan's Art and Culture Minister Dr. BD Kalla inaugurated the 24^th 'Lokrang-2021', a festival of folk artists, at Jawahar Kala Kendra (JKK).

Key Points

• In this 11-day program, more than 650 folk artists from all over the state as well as the country will present the beauty of folk arts of their respective regions.
• The function is being organized by JKK, Art and Culture Department and RUDA (Rural Non-Agriculture Development Agency) under Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav.
• Along with the launch of Lokrang, on the first day, artists performed Garba Raas of Gujarat, Lavani dance (Ganpati) of Maharashtra, Kunbi of Goa, Dolu Kunitha of Tamil Nadu, Chhau (Slaughter of Mahisasur) of West Bengal, Badi-jawara of Madhya Pradesh, Dhobia of Uttar Pradesh, Jhijhiya of Bihar, Langa singing of Jodhpur and Chari dance were brilliantly presented.
• Along with this, the National Handicrafts Fair was also started in JKK's Shilpgram in collaboration with RUDA (Rural Non-Agriculture Development Agency). The fair was inaugurated by Art and Culture Minister Dr. BD Kalla.
• Shehnai-Nagada, Teen Dhol, Puppet, Bharatpur Naat, Algoja dance, Bahurupiya, Kalbelia and Bam Rasiya were performed in JKK's Shilpgram.
• Artistic handicraft products made by award-winning craftsmen across the country are being displayed in the fair. This exhibition will be available for the visitors from 16 to 26 December.

Reader's Traveler Award-2021

Why in news

The prestigious Reader's Traveler Award-2021 was announced by Condé Nast Traveler on December 16, 2021, in which the state of Rajasthan has been awarded the title of Favorite Indian State for Road Trip. Apart from this, Rajasthan has also been declared runner-up in the 'Favorite Leisure Destination' in India category.

Key Points

• The beautiful, grand and glorious state of Rajasthan has been chosen as the preferred Indian state for road trips for the thrilling and pleasurable feeling to see and experience through road trips.
• It is worth mentioning that Condé Nast Traveler is a leading travel magazine with nine different international editions. The Traveller's Readers' Choice Awards are hereby announced after tabulating the results of the millions of respondents who submitted ratings during the Sweepstakes Period.

Vaccination Mahabhiyan-10

Why in news

Vaccination Mahabhiyan-10 was conducted in Madhya Pradesh on December 16, 2021, in which the state has once again set a record by administering 15 lakh vaccine doses in a day to provide protection against corona infection.

Key Points

• In the vaccination campaign-10 till 9 pm, 14 lakh 89 thousand 331 citizens were given vaccine doses. The people-participation model of Madhya Pradesh has played an important role in this achievement of the state.
• In this vaccination campaign all arrangements for vaccination were made at more than 11,000 immunization centers. Vaccination started at the centers at 9 AM, which continued throughout the day.
• So far, 5 crore 18 lakh 5 thousand 926 citizens have been given the first dose of vaccine and 4 crore 52 lakh 42 thousand 372 citizens have been given both doses of vaccine.
• Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said that the target of the state government is to get all the citizens of Madhya Pradesh both doses of anti-Covid vaccine at the earliest. To achieve this goal, a series of vaccination campaigns is being run in the state from June 21, 2021.
• People's representatives, officials of social organizations, crisis management committees, workers of Jan Abhiyan Parishad and people of the health department are working to make the vaccination campaign a success.

Safe and Responsible Migration Initiative (SRMI)

Why in news

On 16 December 2021, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren launched the Safe and Responsible Migration Initiative (SRMI), a policy designed to make the migration of migrant workers safe.

Key Points

• At present, the policy has been made keeping in mind the migration of workers from Dumka, West Singhbhum and Gumla under the Safe and Responsible Migration Initiative (SRMI) pilot project.
• A database of migrant workers is being prepared, who have gone for employment from these three districts to places like Delhi, Kerala and Leh-Ladakh etc. The social, economic and legal rights of migrant workers will be ensured by coordinating with all these states.
• Rules have been made for this purpose so that migrant workers cannot be exploited in any way. After the success of this pilot project in the initial phase, the scope of the system can be made bigger.
• On this occasion, Chief Minister Hemant Soren distributed the benefits of Marriage Assistance Scheme, Maternity Benefit Scheme, Funeral Assistance Scheme, Jharkhand Construction Workers Death/Accident Assistance Scheme and Meritorious Son-Daughter Scholarship Assistance Schemes among the beneficiaries present in the auditorium.
• The Chief Minister said that if a migrant worker dies, the state government will make arrangements to bring his dead body back to his home and the state government will bear the entire cost of the funeral. For this, corpus funds are being arranged in all the districts.
• To protect the migrant laborers of the state, the e-shram portal has been created by the government. The registration of migrant workers is done under this portal, so that the state government can provide them immediate help at the time of calamity.
• The Chief Minister said that in the recent past, the State Government had provided employment in the textile industry to the rescued girls and women from the states like Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh etc. Two thousand appointment letters were distributed to the textile industry, of which 80% were women.

Two new Lokpals of MGNREGA Appointed

Why in news

On December 16, 2021, two new Lokpals were appointed in the state by the Panchayat and Rural Development Department of Chhattisgarh to hear complaints related to Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA).

Key Points

• With these two Lokpals appointed by the Panchayat and Rural Development Department, now there are 16 Lokpals in the state, whose jurisdiction includes 27 districts of the state.
• Vivek Shukla has been appointed as Lokpal for Rajnandgaon district and Chhatra Kumar Sahu for Dantewada, Bijapur and Sukma districts.
• Along with this, a member has also been appointed in the Lokpal Appellate Authority at the state level. Rajarshi Kumar Trivedi has been appointed as the third member of the three-member Lokpal Appellate Authority.
• The Panchayat and Rural Development Department informed that the Lokpal and the members of the authority have been appointed for two years. Their tenure can be extended for two years and one year respectively.

Chhattisgarh Assembly Passed Supplementary Budget and 5 Bills

Why in News

On December 15, 2021, the Chhattisgarh Legislative Assembly passed the supplementary budget and five bills. Thereafter the session was adjourned sine die.

Key Points

• Replying to the second supplementary budget for the financial year 2021-22, Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel said that the supplementary budget has been kept up to Rs.2108.62 crore.
• Giving data on the change in contribution in various schemes of the central government, he said that in 2014 the ratio of agriculture-horticulture allocation and integrated scheme of women and child departments was 85-15, which is now 60-40.
• Similarly MGNREGA which was in the ratio of 90-10, is now in the ratio of 75-25, Indira Awas in the ratio of 75-25 to 60-40 and School Education in the ratio of 70-30 to 60-40.
• On the issue of ready-to-eat (which BJP boycotted) he said that in 2009, 1627 women self-help groups were given work, out of which only 638 groups are working.

“AYUSH Samvad” -“Uttarakhand AYUSH: Resources and Possibilities”

Why in news

On December 16, 2021, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami and Union Minister of Shipping and Waterways, AYUSH, Sarbananda Sonowal, organized 'AYUSH Samvad' by the Department of AYUSH and AYUSH Education at Alaknanda Ghat, Haridwar.

Key Points

• On this occasion, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, while mentioning Kedarnath Dham and Badrinath Dham, said that schemes worth Rs 400 crore have been inaugurated and foundation stone has been laid in Kedarnath and in April the third phase of works will start in Kedarnath. Apart from this, projects worth Rs 250 crore have been approved for Badrinath Dham.
• Along with this, the Chief Minister demanded the Union Minister of Shipping and Waterways, AYUSH, Government of India to open an All India Ayurvedic Institute in Uttarakhand.
• Sarbananda Sonowal made several announcements while addressing the program-
  
  • Under the National AYUSH Mission, a 10-bed Ayush hospital will be set up in Uttarakhand.
  • One mobile AYUSH unit (AYUSH Rath) will be operated in each district of the state.
  • Under the National AYUSH Mission, a Government Homeopathic Medical College and a 50-bed Unani Hospital will be established in the state.
  • Financial assistance will be provided for setting up 100 AYUSH wellness centers in the state.
  • With the help of the National Medical Plants Board, herbal gardens will be established in 200 schools of the state and thirteen nurseries in thirteen districts.
  • An assistance of Rs 15 lakh will be given to each forest panchayat for the establishment of medical plants etc.
• Apart from this, arrangements for marma therapy would be made in Uttarakhand Ayurved University and it would become a major center of the country. Uttarakhand is being given assistance by the Government of India for the development of the AYUSH sector.